Till Death Do us Part
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: He had it all. Wealth. Power. Influence. The world at his fingertips. Then he lost it. Left with nothing but his life and a curse, he aims to reclaim what he's lost at any cost. Takes place after the 2 year timeskip. NarutoxHarem! NarutoxShirahoshi!
1. Speechless, Simply Speechless

_To find the place where you belong...to seek knowledge and grow stronger with it...these things we all must have to be at peace with ourselves._

**_~?_**

**_The Man and the Mermaid_**

A great and terrible cry filled the chambers of Hard Shell Tower.

Someone was screaming; a high pitched, incoherent, sobbing scream that trailed off and then started up again. It went on that way for quite some time. Someone, or perhaps something was in great distress, and there was no one there to comfort them, nor their heart of misery. A heart beating so wildly that it made her want to cry.

A body could be seen amongst the cushions now. So too could terribly turquoise eyes, a, tear-soaked face, and a cream-colored vest that was terribly, terribly tattered. And now we are close enough to see the face with the mouth wide open. Something stirred deep within him as he drew nearer to her. A woman. The woman had her arms folded tight across her chest for all she was worth, shaking and quivering as she emerged from yet another nightmare, terribly unaware that the ledges of her eyes threatened to overflow with more tears than ever before.

This was not a woman; because this was a girl.

She was sobbing.

They were quieter now, a series of gulping sobs.

She was alone.

So terribly terribly alone. Megalo had disappeared. Father and her brothers seldom came to visit her now, for fear of putting her life in danger. The guards still delivered meals to her promptly and on time, but there cordial respect was never the friendship that she so desired. And so she was left to her own devices, seeking some way to pass the time while this terrible truth clawed at her breast and threatened to eradicate her completely.

Shirahoshi wanted a friend.

Was that so much to ask? A true friend, _a nakama,_ one who would always be there for her. Always there, always by her side. Forever. Always. But she was a crybaby, and she surely didn't deserve such a friend when she was so pitifully, disgustingly weak. Perhaps she wanted to be strong. Perhaps she wanted a strong friend. A strong nakama even, strong enough to fight away all her fears and all her tears.

Perhaps...

...perhaps Shirahoshi wanted something even more than that.

A hand to hold. A bed to warm. A cheek to kiss. Simple, petty ideals, one that no girl her age would ever be penalized for. Except Shirahoshi. She hadn't any of those, none of the bonds that her brothers_-free to come and go from the palace as they pleased-_were said to have. Shirahoshi didn't want to think such things, but she did. In truth, perhaps she was even jealous of her older siblings, envious of their freedom as princes, to do what they wanted, when they wanted, _how_ they wanted.

Just the thought of their smiling faces tore at her hearstrings.

But it was pointlessly silly of her to even think such things. She musn't stray outside of Hard-Shell Tower. Were she to ever do such a thing, no matter how much she might so desperately want to, then father would become angry. As would her brothers. So terribly, terribly angry. It was selfish and foolish and stupid of Shirahoshi to think such things and no matter how much she wanted them, they could never come to pass, could they?

_**BANG!**_

A rattling of the door banished her depression and dragged the princess back to reality.

"Shirahoshi-sama?" A voice like liquid intruded upon her thoughts. "Are you in there, Shirahosi-sama?"

Shirahoshi blinked rapidly.

_"Nani?"_

She swiveled in place, taking her attention from her favorite pet, Megalo, and placing it firmly upon the door to her room. For years now, that door had stood between her and freedom; an impregnable bulwark against danger, but also against any semblance of happiness. She loved that door. She hated it, too. She'd been locked up in this tower now for so very, very long since she was six and now she was already sixteen and she was afraid and...and...and...oh...

"Who-Who're you?" she whispered at the shadows. "Who's there?"

"A...friend." The voice on the other side acquesiced.

"Your father did not mention me?" Puzzlement filtered through the heavy door. "As of today, I'm your new bodyguard."

"F-Father wouldn't-

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, m'lady." Came the immediate counter from the other side. "Rest assured, I mean you no harm, unlike that fool Vanderdecken, may the make curse his soul a thousand times over." With this, he stepped into Hard-Shell Tower and made himself known to her. From what little she could see of him, he'd six sheathes-each of which held a sword-strapped to his back, and laid flat atop them...was that a crossbow?

Arms upraised, clad in black leather armor that devoured the sun's early light, the man seemed more a god than a mortal. He peered up at her from the heights, surveying all that the tower's sole occupant had to offer. The sight of her drying tears did not concern him, nor did the flight of her breath as it strained against her chest. Once, Shirahoshi might have screamed for her father and her brothers, wailing and wrending at her sheets as she desperately waited for someone to come save her from the danger.

Now, she watched, and she waited.

He bowed, genuflecting gracefully and sweeping his matte-black cloak out behind him.

"Allow me to introduce myself." He swept himself low to the floor in a graceful bow. "Uzumaki Naruto, former Tenryuubito, former practitioner of the dark arts, and bodyguard extrordinare, at your service." He tilted his head upward and smiled, gently sweeping himself out of his genuflecting position. Despite herself, Princess Shirahoshi flinched. He couldn't possibly be what he had claimed to be...could he?

"Would you mind if I took a look around?"

"N-No," She snifled, "Not r-really."

"Arigatou." He inclined his head politely, likely mistaking her concern for something else. "I'll only be a moment."

It was then that he paused to take stock of the room, as well as the weathered door behind him. Shirahoshi, in her fright, took advantage of this opportunity to study this odd looking youth as well and what she saw left her with more questions than it did answers. She knew all too well what a Tenryuubito was, and if this man claimed to be one such creature, then she had every right to fear him.

He was a handsome fellow, if intense. His blond hair was disheveled, his blue eyes intelligent, his features balanced. Whisker marks tripled each cheek, cheeks that had once dimpled with a constantly bright and enthused grin; no matter the situation or mission. Now, he was intense. His face had hardened, his visage freed of the baby fat that had cursed him in his younger years. Chiseled and nigh but expressionless, that face bore a series of angry red lines from left ear to right, drooping down his chin and neck.

He traced one such line now with his little finger, absentmindedly asessing the ruination that surrounded him. Bodies and corpses and blood and gravel were all that remained in the square lead back toward Ryugu Plaza, and for a terrifying second, she feared that they were the bodies of the guards. Imagine instead her surprise when she beheld the mark of the Flying Pirates on each of them.

_That_ had once been the plaza.

"D-Did you do all of that?" Shirahoshi asked. "Naruto-sama?"

For a moment, it looked like he might protest the "sama" suffix, but then he sighed.

_"That?"_ He turned, a single lens of sapphire regarding her cooly as he peered outward into the carnage he had created. "What would you say if I told you that I just killed all of those men, because they were coming here to kidnap you?" He let the statment hang, unaddorned between them. Then he let it drop, the confusion falling from his face like a wave of glittering sand as his shoulders sagged.

At length, he smiled.

It was a terribly sad, terribly lonely smile.

"You're afraid of me, aren't you, princess?"

"N-No!" Shirahoshi shouted, catching herself only after the fact. "I'm...not afraid." In truth, she was afraid. She was absolutely terrified. The Tenryuubito had scared her nearly ten years before, and they still scared her now. So what if this one did not wear the traditional air helmet and outlandishly white fashion of his kind? That he even _claimed_ to be such a figure of importance_-albeit formerly-_was enough to warrant her suspicion.

"Why are you afraid?" Naruto asked politely.

"You...said you were a Tenryubito." Shirahoshi replied in weak answerment. She knew at once that she had made a terrible mistake. Naruto's face crumpled, his smiling falling in on itself; compacting with all the features of his face as he pursed his lips into a thin line. Anger flashed through those sapphiric orbs for a moment, burning like a great and unquenchable thirst hidden just below the surface.

Abruptly, it dimmed somewhat.

"I did say that, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did." Shirahoshi nodded weakly.

"Well, I'm not." Naruto snapped back, abandoning the tone of reverence he had used prior. "Not anymore. Tell me, why is it that you think I accepted this job from your father in the first place?" He didn't even let her get a word in edgewise. "No, don't bother, I'll tell you. I accepted this job based solely on the fact that I would be working toward the greater good, toward peace with your people. During the course of that, I made the mistake of aiding a group of what I thought to be refugees. As it turned out, they were not refugess, but pirates and I'm not talking about any old band of roving seafarers either."

He paused, his tone leaden.

"Nevermind." He shook his head. "That's in the past, not the here and now, and-_oh look, food."_ He stood woodenly, not taking enough care. Shirahoshi followed him with her eyes, noting that his impressive weaponry seemed to clink every few steps or so; thereby creating a peculiar rhythym as he walked. _Gods!_ No matter how hard she tried, she kept forgetting just how tiny most people were when compared to her. The fact that he'd turned his attention from her to focus upon the afternoon meal set out for her only piqued her curiosity even further.

"For someone so small you certainly eat an awful lot, Naruto-sama." She leaned forward her head in her hands as she watched the youth voraciously devour a massive loaf of bread; something that would hardly fill her own stomach. It was quite comical, humorous even. "Humans are very strange."she mused, her tail swaying back and forth as she hummed softly to herself.

For a moment, she let him eat in silence.

"I don't think you're a bad person after all, Naruto-sama." Shirahoshi said.

"Is that so?" He replied between bites. "Well then, that's good."

"Do you ever go on adventures?" Shirahoshi asked suddenly. "Have you ever seen the sun? Also...have you seen the many types of "flowers" or the hair covered creatures known as "animals"? Have you ever been to a green location called a forest? Oh and-

"Easy there!" Naruto choked out between the massive portions he was devouring, trying not to spit out the food as she poked at his cheeks. "Too many questions!"

"O-Oh!" Shirahoshi gasped, hands flying to her face, alarmed by his harsh tone. "Y-You didn't need to sh-shout...

"Oi!

"If you want to see them so badly, I could just take you up there." Naruto answered as he swallowed a huge chunk of veal. "I've seen all kinds of things during my travels. It's really something you'd have to see for yourself, princess." _That_ dried her tears. He'd seen all those things? The outside world? And could she really go and see it? Did she dare dream of such a ridiculous flight of fancy while Vanderdecken was still after her life?

"Shirahoshi." She dared herself to say.

_"Nani?"_

"J-Just...call me Shirahoshi." The mermaid princess flushed, suddenly flustered. "A-And I c-couldn't possibly go up to the surface! I'm not even supposed to leave the tower! If I do then that would be awfully selfish of me! BBesides, how would someone as large as me ever get out without being seen!" She didn't even have Megalo to ride even if they did concoct some sort of escape plan...not that she was even thinking of such a thing!

"Say, where would you go if I could get you out of here?" Naruto asked, suddenly curious. "If you could only go for one day, where would that be?"

"Um...mm...to the Sea Forest." came her eventual reply. "A-Ah, no! Nevermind! It's just a f-foolish dream! I c-couldn't possibly-W-Why?"

A strange twinkle gleamed in Naruto's eye.

"In that case, I have a confession to make."

"Eh?" Shirahoshi blinked, all innocence and naivite.

"Your father didn't really hire me." Naruto admitted. "My ship crashed here, and I was marooned, without a crew."

"E-Eeeh?"

"I really _was_ a Tenryubito once and all the other stuff I mentioned was true," Naruto continued, "Except the bodyguard bit." He shrugged, sheepishly, helplessly. "Those thugs that I killed back there, I just happened upon them on my way here, looking for a place to hide. "And if you want to go to the Sea Forest that badly, well, we can go right now, if you'd like."

_"Eeeeeeeh!"_

And that was how Shirahoshi, daughter of Neptune, met Uzumaki Naruto.

**A/N: HAHAHA! The first NarutoxShirahoshi pairing in existence! This takes place about roughly a week or two before Luffy and Co. come crashing through so expect to see the Strawhat pirates and everyone else reaaaaall soon! ENJOY! And don't forget to review until my ears fall off! Although, being a skeleton, I have no ears...SKULL JOOOOKE! YOHOHOHO! ****I know I may die from asking this so may times, but...REVIEW PLEASE! Then again...being a skeleton...I am already dead! SKULL JOOOOOKE! YOHOHOHO!**


	2. The Princess and the Pauper

**The Princess and the Pauper**

_"Uwaaaaaah!"_

A terrible keening shook Hard Shell Tower from top to bottom.

"Father! Brothers!" Shirahoshi bawled, "A human has entered my chambers to make an attempt on my life!"

"Calm down!" Naruto waved up at her rapidly. "I'm not here to take your life!"

_"Liar!"_

"I am _not_ lying! I-

Naruto hesitated, briefly considering his actions.

"Well, I _might_ have lied about the bodyguard part, but-

"Uwaaaaaah!" The sound of Shirahoshi's sobs filled the air anew. "Someone! Anyone! _Heeeeeelp meeeee!"_

"Oi! Calm down!"

"No!"

_"Eh?"_

"You lied!" Shirahoshi wailed, bereaved beyond belief. "Liar! Liar liar _liiiiiaaaar!"_ He was a Tenryubito after all! Not a bodyguard! He'd come to kidnap her! To take her away from her home and sell her into slavery, or worse! Because he was a liar! And a liar could never ever _ever_ be trusted! He wasn't here to protect her at all! He was here to do all sorts of awful things to her and who knew what else!

"Yes, I lied and I'm sorry!" Naruto insisted desperately! "Now you need to be quiet before-

**_Zing!_**

He turned, eyes flying wide as they leveled upon the single shaft of light that protruded into the room.

"What in the...

And a moment later a large, double-bladed, black-fletched battle axe came hurtling through the open door in recompense for his temerity. There really was no other way to describe the object in question. Simply put, to Uzumaki Naruto, it looked as though someone had thrown a massive axe through the front gate. And just like that, the axe came ablurring toward the head of Princess Shirahoshi.

_"Ah!"_

Shirahoshi flung both arms before her face and squeezed her eyes violently shut before her impending doom. She'd seen these terrible missiles of death before, and she knew that no matter the effort, no matter the will exerted, that this weapon would fly straight and true until it struck its intended target. Oddly enough, she bore Naruto no ill will, a strange concept, considering that it was he who had guaranteed her already almost certain demise.

**_"Urgh!"_**

Shirahoshi flinched, waited, and finally, dared to creak open an eye. What she saw gave her pause.

Then the shock overcame her altogether.

"Na-Naruto-sama!"

Against all odds, against all reason, the battle axe had been halted. And in midair no less. Suddenly standing there between Princess Shirahoshi and her certain demise, was Uzumaki Naruto. Whenever he'd moved, he'd done so quickly. So much so that she hadn't even seen him-what with her eyes being closed-but still, to willingly throw himself into the path of danger for her sake and with so little care for his own well-being was...

_...extraordinary._

Naruto stared down the offending weapon, his eyes no longer sapphire but instead, a glistening ruby red. Sweat beaded down his face, he shook all over. Twin veins throbbed against his neck and forehead, pulsating wildly as the trembling weapon strained and struggled to reach its final destination in the flesh of its victim. He jerked his head to the east with an unspeakable, undeniable autority; to which the axe inexplicably obeyed.

With the undeniable shriek of metal rending against metal_-though no weapon of his could be seen-_the double-bladed axe diverged from its given path. One moment it hovered before his face; the next it careened into the eastern wall of the gondola and lodged itself there forevermore. Naruto watched it veer of course, gasping for breath. There could be no mistaking the distinctive rose petal insignia, nor to who it belonged.

_Vanderdecken,_ Naruto seethed at the trademark insignia of the fishman pirate, the one who'd been hunting him this entire time. _This has to be his doing. But why would he try to attack the princess..._

"You...aren't hurt are you?"

Naruto gulped down a breath and shook his head, leaving Shirahoshi to marvel at his unparalleled bravery. Whatever force had repelled the axe, it was almost certainly gone now. And its useage seemed to have all but exhausted the boy; because he was swooning, staggering on his feet. He tottered foward on the brink of collapse, and suddenly a hand reached down and scooped him up.

Her hand.

Princess Shirahoshi held the strange blond Tenryuubito in the palm of her hand for what felt like an eternity and examined her feelings. On one hand, he had lied to her, snuck into her private quarters, and sought shelter from the guards. On the other he'd just saved her from imminent death. Now she_-literally-_held his fate in her hands. Determining whether to expose him or not, she wrestled with the decision, and the consequences of such an action.

Eventually, she had to speak to the little man in her hands.

"You saved me." Despite herself, Shirahoshi had to struggle just to fight back the tears. It was a strange sensation, that swelled within her breasts. One of relief, and absolute cathartic terror. So much so that she nearly cried all over again. For a brief, fleeting second, she both adored and feared him. Eventually, her heart settled upon the latter. He had saved her life, hadn't he...

...was he really a Tenryubito after all?

"I did, didn't I?" Naruto laughed, and it was a weary one, that sagged his shoulders. "Hoo boy, I'm out of shape." He flopped backward and onto his back amidst the fingers of Shirahoshi. "Usually, I can manage at least three of those before I collapse like this." He lay there in her hand utterly helpless, and either completely oblivious to it, or perhaps he really did know how much danger he'd fallen into and was waiting for the right moment to play his hand.

She'd never know for certain.

"Princess Shirahoshi, we are on our way!" Just like that, the sound of rapid footfalls shattered the moment forever. It was now or never. Time to decide. And. for better or for worst, the daughter of Neptune had made her decision. She plucked Naruto from his perch and hoisted him upward without hesitation, without warning. Unwilling to endure such treatment silently, he cried out in vehement protest to such manhandling.

"What are you doing!" Naruto hissed as Shirahoshi's hand closed around him, pulling him upward and out of sight, shoving the former Tenryuubito into the only suitable place she could even think of; inserting him in between her cleavage. He gave one last muffled cry, followed by a grunt, and then went silent, leaving a flustered Shirahoshi to think on the heinous act she had just committed.

"Princess Shirahoshi!" Not a moment after her audacious act, the guards burst into her room. "Are you alright!"

"...I'm fine." she lied.

"We were so worried when we heard your planitive cries!" Said the Minister of the Right. "Who on earth opened this door!" He paused, glanced at his back, and finally seemed to realize that a slew of butchered bodies were scattered about the walkway behind him. "Good heavens!" He gasped! "Intruders! When did they get here! Who defeated them so swiftly, without our noticing! Do you know who did this, Princess Shirahoshi?"

"Ano...I...did?" She offered weakly, not knowing what else to say. "Y-Yes!" She repeated, gaining some measure of strength within her words. "I-It was me!"

_"Mmmph!_

Naruto offered a muffled protest from within her vest.

"Quiet!" Shirahoshi whispered, struggling to contain her embarassment and hoping that his antics would go unnoticed.

"Princess...I beg your pardon?" Apparently, her statement as having more of an aftershock than she'd anticipated. Not only the Minister of the Right, but the entire guard now gawped upward at their princess, unable to believe their eyes, nor their ears. Princess Shirahoshi, youngest daughter of King Neptune, had single-handedly defeated a squad of battle hardened fishman pirates?

Without sustaining so much as a scratch?

"W-We must inform your father immediately!" Announced the Minister of the Right. "We cannot allow this grievous attack to go unanswered!"

"I...apologize for causing you alarm! It was nothing really! I think I must've had a bad dream, that is all!"

"I see...if that is the case then I am most relieved." The Minister of the Right siged in blatant releif. "Ah yes, there is something else I should speak to you about. Recently we have discovered that an intruder has broken into the palace and appears to still be on the premises. We have no description of him thus far, thus, we must all be on our guard at all times! He is a dangerous criminal! We believe him to be a-

**_Beep._**

"Ah." He paused, glancing at his watch. "It seems that five minutes have passed. In that case, we will be leaving!" In single file, the Minister of the Right and the royal guard marched out of Hard Shell Tower, slamming the door behind them with a resounding thwack. Princess Shirahoshi waited a few moments more, then she finally remebered the fate of her unwilling captive within her breasts.

"Oh!" She gasped! "I'm so sorry!"

"AIR!" Naruto gasped, poking his head out from between Shirahoshi's breasts. "That was too close! I couldn't breathe!" Before he could say anything more, the Tenryubito had forecefully wedged himself out of her cleavage, flopping onto the unyielding tiles of Hard Shell Tower. He lay there for a moment, gasping and groaning, and all the while what looked be a thin sliver of blood leaked from his nose.

At length, he composed himself.

"Thanks! That was a close one!"

"S-So then you won't hurt me?" Shirahoshi whimpered, having dried her tears and and abstained from crying further.

"Of course I won't!" Naruto snapped back. "Although you nearly suffocated me back there. Why did you do that anyway?"

Shirahoshi felt her cheeks burn anew.

"I-It was the only thing I could think of!"

_"Geh? _Naruto made a squelcing sound and flopped back onto his feet.

"I...well...um...

"What?" Naruto pressed. "What is it?"

"It's just...you're so small." Shirahoshi pondered softly, poking at his cheek. Naruto for the most part, allowed Shirahoshi to have her fun. She was young, after all. Not much younger than him, but pretty close. Still, her blissful naivitie was almost...endearing.

"I'm sorry." Apologized Shirahoshi. "It was the only place I could think to hide you at the time and...um...

"What, is there something on my face?" Naruto asked, and Shirahoshi felt her cheeks redden. She'd been caught staring she realized. How embarassing! Naruto held her gaze for a moment longer before turning away, back toward the doors as if to shut them. The guards were already outside, of that much she was certain. They were likely cleaning up the mess that the axe's entry had left behind.

"W-Wait!" Shirahoshi protested.

_"Eh?" _Naruto spared her a glance over the shoulder.

"Aren't you going to finish the story?"

"What story?"

"The one about you being a World Noble." Shirahoshi prodded weakly. "I...wanted to hear it."

Naruto stifled a groand as he sat back down to indulge in the feast.

"There _is_ no story." He smacked one fist into a palm. "I was a World Noble. I screwed up, and now here I am. I shouldn't have done it, but I did, and there's nothing I can do about it after the fact. And right now, my job is to protect you, so that's what I'm gonna do."

"B-But...

Naruto abruptly arched an eyebrow.

"Just how old did you say you were?"

"I-I didn't." Shirahoshi mumbled.

He kept staring until she shrank back.

"S-Sixteen." She relented at last.

"Oh." Naruto blinked. "In that case, I think you're old enough to hear all the gory details."

"S-Suddenly I'm not so sure I want to hear it after all...

Naruto paid her no heed.

"After that..._fiasco,_ the World Government wanted nothing to do with me. I was cast down, stripped of my rank and position as a Tenryubito, and left to wander the four seas for all eternity, picking up odd jobs as I go. Along the way, I was captured by the marines. I escaped, and headed to the one place that I knew they wouldn't be able to follow me, not without a coated ship, that is."

"Fishman Island." Shirahoshi realized.

"Give the girl a prize." Naruto grumbled. "But unfortunately that oaf you call Hordy Jones caught wind of my arrival. Bastard sank my ship, slaughtered my crew, and I barely managed to escape at their behest. Now they're either captured or dead, which makes me sincerely hope for the latter." He paused for breath and a shroud of melancholy and despair promptly engulfed him.

"Naruto-sama?" Shirahoshi asked quietly.

"Yeah?" He risked a percursory glance in her direction.

"I hope your crew survived." she said.

He seemed to brighten a bit at that.

"I was just looking for a place to hide." he whispered. "Then I run into a band of even bigger fools, lead by Vanderdecken. Seems he has this wild fantasy that you're going to be his bride, someday." A rueful tone entered his voice. "Another fool with delusions of grandeur. That's why you've been locked away for the past ten years, isn't it? To keep him and his "invitations" at bay?"

Shirahoshi nodded weakly and explained the concept of what the believed to be the "curse" of Decken's Mato Mato ability.

"That isn't a curse." Naruto corrected. "I'd say its an ability of a cursed fruit. Most likely the Mato Mato no mi."

"Cursed...fruit?"

"I've eaten one too." Naruto offered dryly. "Though I have to say, I rather envy him that particular ability."

"Does that make you a magician, then?" Shirahoshi asked. "C-Can you do tricks?"

"In a sense, yes." Naruto conceded reluctantly. "I can perform what you merfolk would call "magic", yes."

Shirahoshi all but sparkled.

"P-Perhaps you could show me a m-magic trick, then?" When Naruto gave her a dubious glare, she flushed darkly. "Pretty please?"

Naruto stared upward at her for a moment longer, then he smiled.

_"Just a trick?" _

For a terrifying second, a darkly amused glint flickered in Naruto's eyes. Then it was gone, and Shirahoshi wondered if she had only imagined it. Naruto straightened himself a hairsbreadth later, his robes flaring out wildly from the motion and the sudden gust of wind that it brought. They hung there for a moment, jutting out like strange tethers the like of which she'd never seen; constantly ebbing and flowing as if they were somehow sentient.

It lent him a strange, otherwordly appearance.

"Very well." Naruto began in a voice softer than velvet. "If it's for you, princess, then I'm willing to oblige." He flicked his fingers a total of six times, and, suddenly, each hand held a sword. Rather, he held three swords to a hand grasped firmly between his fingers. He twisted his neck and a harsh _crrrraaaaack_ snarled throughout the tower. The light inexplicably flickered in the tower, dimming, momentarily.

When next it had cleared, he was no longer holding his katana. Instead, they were embedded into the floor at varying intervals, pokmarking the base of Hard Shell Tower. The shape was rather strange, almost similair to that of a pentagram, Shirahoshi noted. And to top it all of, a strange aura had engulfed the blond, furthering his already darkened appearance; because suddenly, truly, _Naruto-sama frightened her._

"Behold!" He boomed loudly, his voice reverberating off the walls, and yet, somehow, remaining little more than a whisper. "I shall permit you a glimpse of my power!" Stones rattled in the ceiling overhead, prompting Shirahoshi to cover her own and cower in fear. Then the inexcusable sound of laughter trickled through the fear and the anxiety and the terror and washed it all away.

For the third time that fay since she'd met him, Princess Shirahoshi forced herself to open her eyes.

Naruto was standing there, hands planted upon his hips, crossbow laid in the pentagram at his feet. He stepped over it in a single bound, grinning all the while. Suddenly it all seemed brighter somehow; any traces of darkness that had been clouding the room from his previous "demonstration" having evaporated with mirthful expresson of joy. She blinked her tears away, and founding herself smiling_-albeit nervously-_as well.

"Gotcha."

Naruto winked, stepping into the pentagram and spread his arms wide.

"Now." Naruto began solemnly. "Now, behold!"

He clapped his hands together, once, twice, three times, and then-

**POOF!**

Shirahoshi gawped at the dispersing cloud of smoke in disbelief, blinking rapdily. Naruto stood there, relatively unchanged. His face however was now level with her own. _Odd._ Hadn't he been a bit_...shorter?_ It hadn't been before. And had he always been so...so...handsome? It was disconcerting, having his face so very close to his own. How had he performed such a feat; and why was it that his face suddenly encompassed her entire field of vision?

Then she looked down.

Was he always this tall?

Naruto laughed, it was a deep, throaty sound.

"Surprised?" He grinned, his voice tumbling to a lower pitch even as he smiled.

Shirahoshi squeaked.

"Y-You're big!" She gasped out. "But how!"

Naruto grinned.

"You mean, this?"

Not just his face, but everything about him. Within moments he'd gone from being the average size of a normal human being, to rivaling her own. He might have even been a good head taller than herself, and Shirahoshi hadn't he foggiest as to how he had done it. Of course he was grinning, grinning like a child who'd just been handed a new toy or some other analogy that Shirahoshi couldn't possibly hope to express in that moment.

His hand brushed across hers for the briefest instant. Shirahoshi blushed. And what was that color that reddened _his_ cheeks as well? Naruto-sama couldn't possibly be-he was! Naruto-sama was blushing, too! He never struck her as the blushing type, per-se. Yet here he was, his cheeks darkening the very same color ashers, his lips mere inches, nay, centimeters from her own...

...pressive, isn't it?"

Shirahoshi blinked the daydream away, slightly crestfallen.

_"Nani?"_

Naruto was looking at her expectantly.

"Impressive, isn't it?" He forced the words out through suddenly loose lips. "But this, _this_ is nothing." With that he raised a hand cocking back as though he might physically strike her across the face. Shirahoshi couldn't help it. She flung her arms before her face for the second time that day and braced herself. Nothing. Instead, she had the faint of faintest sensation beneath her chin, as though a candle had just been lit beneath her lips, and was warming her entire visage.

"Open your eyes." Naruto urged her, all grace and efficiancy. "Open them and see."

Willing herself to calmness, she squinted her eyes open once more. And she squealed, such was her delight. Cradled within Naruto's palms were a series of blackish blue flame whisps, ones that he was now juggling as nonchalantly as though they were bowling pins. She counted one two, three, four of the flaming sphere before the former Tenryubito lowered his arms and let the flaming globules carrom harmlessly off his hands and into the floor.

_"Sugoi..._

Naruto flicked two fingers upright, and one of the swirling spheres obeyed the unbiddend command; rocketing toward the ceiling with a frightening speed. Abruptly it stopped, hovered, then flicked itself toward her with an alarming intensity. Shirahoshi winced, then marveled as it delicately alighted on the tip of her nose. Naruto snapped his fingers, and suddenly, it was no longer flame, but a bird. A bluebird in fact, the little creature perched upon her nose, chirping softly to itself in its confusion.

"That, my dear, is the power of the Mugen Mugen no mi." Naruto flicked his fingers, dispelling the spells as he shrank back to his base height. "I suppose you might call me an illusive man, given the power of this fruit." He spread his arms wide in recompense for his previous statement. "Anything my imagination can cook up, becomes reali. Anything at all." He paused, a prodigous grin flitting across his features.

Shirahoshi adored it.

"So you can do anything?" She asked in wonderment. "Anything at all?"

"Well, not anything." Naruto ammended his previous statement. "I can't influence the thoughts or emotions of people, be they merfolk or humans or otherwise. Beyond that, I am capable of _nearly_ almost anything. Oh, don't look at me like that! I'm no mind reader, but even I can tell what you're thinking." He gestured to himself the elaborate robes which he wore and grimaced at her innocent naievite.

"You're wondering if this is my true appearance aren't you?" Naruto ventured, lips pursed into a thin frown. "Aren't you, princess?"

"Ano...sumimasen." She relented. The thought had crossed her mind, but she hadn't dared to give voice to it. Until now. If this stranger, if Naruto really meant to make good on his offer to take her to the Sea Forest, then she wanted to trust him implicity. She couldn't if he was keeping secrets from her, no matter how minor they might be. While, he had indeed saved her from that axe, the Mermaid Princess still held a healthy measure of fear for this man.

"Y-Yes." She stammered, struggling to strengthen her voice. "I-Is that face...are those scars...really yours?"

"You're asking me this because of my ability, I trust?"

"I am." Shirahoshi surprised herself, such was the steel in her voice. Maker! She hadn't meant to sound like that at all! She almost immediately regretted it. She truly _truly_ did not wish to hurt Naruto-sama's feelings. It was just, with Vanderdecken after her, she couldn't. She just couldn't be sure of anything anymore. Thankfully the Celestial Dragon did not glower, nor did he leer at her for what she felt to be her own impertinence.

On the contrary, _Naruto-sama smiled._

"Perhaps you're not such a crybaby after all." He mused softly, scarcely loud enough for her ears to detect. "Yes...perbaps...very well then!" In the blink of an eye, all six of his katana were miracously sheathed, and the crossbow replaced over and upon them. "I sill swear it to you, Shirahoshi. I will swear to you the truth as I have never beforre sworn to another, that this is my true face and form."

Shirahoshi flushed, abashed at such an honor.

"N-Naruto-sama...

"I swear to you on my honor as a Tenryubito," Naruto's visage soured at the mention of the title, as if it physically pained him to speak the word, "That the face you see here before you is in fact, the genuine article." He genuflected as he finished, his forehead kissing the floor in a rare gesture of defference. Shirahoshi felt her cheeks darkening at such an admission; at such submission from one of Humanity's most prestigous, most feared, elite. Here he was, prostrating himself before her and practically begging for her acceptance, and that, was too much for her fragile heart to withstand.

"Naruto-sama, y-you don't have to kneel...

"Good." Naruto abruptly straightened, beneath the weight of her words. "The floor's cold."

Shirahoshi couldn't help herself. It had been ten years since she'd last done it, but now, it was once again too much for her to bear. It was such a simple act, really, something that shouldn't have triggered such an ungratified response from the Mermaid Princess. But really, Naruto-sama had, as usual, been far too blunt in his manner of speaking and Princess Shirahoshi found the strangely delightful.

_"Hee." _

She snorted.

It was an ungracious undignified sound, not befitting of the kingdom's princess at all. It caused Naruto's visage to twist most strangely. His lips pursed, his face puckered, and he promptly clamped a hand over his mouth lest he reply in kind. Shirahoshi found this to be utterly ridiculous, which, of course, only made things oh so much worse. She felt it, a strange tickle working its way up from with her breasts, building, swelling, growing as it reached her throat...

Before she knew it herself, Princess Shirahoshi was laughing. A delightful, wonderous peal erupted from the back of her throat, and Naruto's followed not far behind. She could not remember the last time she'd smiled, let alone laughed. And with a human no less. For a moment, just a momen for a sparse breath of several seconds, both Princess and Tenryubito shared a genuine laugh. Had any of the New Fishman pirates seen such a sight, they would have been riveted to the spot with sheer disgust.

It was utterly ludicrous.

Their princess, sharing a rare moment of peace and tranquility, not with her guards, not her adivosors, not her pet, but with a human. A Tenryubito. The very lineage that had so cruelly labeled them as "less than human" and thus made them their slaves. They would not have understood this bond; this seed that had been planted, that had only just begun to grow between these two, the most unlikely of acquiantances; destined to become fast friends and perhaps, _perhaps,_ something more.

Slowly, reluctantly, their laughter died.

"The floor really was cold, princess." Naruto reminded Shirahoshi, and was rewarded with a shy smile. "But I think we should get back to the matter at hand."

And that is?"

"Well, about that walk," Naruto began...

All semblance of color drained from the visage of the Mermaid Princess.

Simultaneously, elation and dread swelled within her breast. On one hand, she knew it was forbidden for her to leave the tower without supervision. On the other, she wanted so desperately to visit the Sea Forest, to visit the site of her Mother's grave. She had so many things to say to her that she hadn't yet been allowed to say. Just the thought of them made the ledges of her eyes brim with fresh tears.

"Do you really want to go to the Sea Forest?" Naruto, seeing her hesitation, her indecision, pressed her once more. "Once we leave this tower, it will be difficult getting back in without being noticed, you know, if at all. I'm willing to be your bodyguard_-at the risk of drawing unwanted attention to myself-_but you have to understand whether or not you decide to go, there will be consequences."

"B-But you'll protect me, won't you?" Shirahoshi felt her resolve begin to falter. "Y-You'll keep me safe, right?"

"What's in the Sea Forest that is so precious to you?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"A grave." Shirahoshi would say no more.

"It wouldn't happen to be Otohime's grave, would it?" Naruto asked.

A jerky bob of the head answer that question.

"I see."

For a moment, something hardened in the eyes of Uzumaki Naruto. It was a slow deliberate proccess, like watching liquid metal solidify, becoming rigid and unbending. What, if any thoughts he had in that moment, he kept to himself. It occurred to Shirahoshi THEN, that, being a Tenryubito, he might somehow know of it; the letter Queen Otohime had received from the Celestial Dragon that she'd convinced to aid the fishmen.

"She was your mother, wasn't she?" Naruto asked again, his voice now, little more than a whisper. "Queen Otohime was?"

Another tearful nod.

"In that case, definitely." His answer came slowly, and deliberately. "I promise to protect you, no matter what."

With that, he essentially provided the answer for her.

"A-Arigatou." Shirahoshi reaffirmed, both in her decision, and her faith. "Please, forgive me for being so selfish. I want to go there. J-Just for a little bit."

"Which leaves us with a problem." Naruo groused. "You're far too large to just leave the castle, not without being noticed, anyway." He peered toward the doors, shuddering a small shiver as he remembered the axe that had nearly taken her life. "And what's more, Vanderdecken's targeting you. He might even have men out searching for you at this very moment, if I'm not mistaken, so really, your size doesn't help us much."

For a moment, Shirahoshi despaired. How could she have forgotten! She was much too large to leave without alerting the guards to her prescence. How that fact had slipped her mind until this very instant utterly eluded her; filling her soul to the brim with dejection and shame.

"I-Indeed," She apologized. "I am sorry...

Naruto's left eye twinkled strangely at that.

"Leave that to me."

_"Nani?"_

Naruto exhaled softly.

**_"Mugen."_**

Shirahoshi had only an instant to wonder what he meant by that before Tenryubito drew three of his six swords. In sharp contrast to the previous ritual, he simply unsheathed the lot of them, one after the other, and sat where he stood. Folding his legs, he laid the first blade in his lap, wedged the second into the soil before him, pointing the third of his blade at Shirahoshi, pommel first.

"If you would be so kind?" Naruto inquired genially, clearly intending for her to take the blade from him. It was then that she realized his hand was clutching not the hilt itself, but, rather, the naked edge of the blade. If she, with her giant fingers, pulled the blade from his palm, he would, without a doubt, lose his hand. The thought made Shirahoshi queasy, but Naruto's smile repudiated her attempts to convince him otherwise; because he simply refused to falter.

"C'mon!" He rattled the blade at her insistently, leaving Shirahoshi to wonder when it was that the blade had started to glow a strange, grainy green. "We haven't got all day!"

With trembling fingers, Shirahoshi reached out to touch the hilt and pommel of the katana. Abruptly, she was overcome with a sudden and overwhelming dizziness. Her eyes went vacant, her world, blurring at the edges and outlines. The emerald green glow from the blade crept up to her wrist, and then her arm and then her should and then and then...

...and then there was only blackness.

**A/N: YOHOHOHO! ****Coming up, Escape from Shell Tower! Shirahoshi's Grand adventure with the Tenryubito!**Thank you so much for all of you giving me all of these WONDERFUL ideas! I hope you liked the chapter! I know I may die from asking this so may times, but...REVIEW PLEASE! Then again...being a skeleton...I am already dead! SKULL JOOOOOKE! YOHOHOHO!


	3. The Princess and the Pauper II

**A/N: Yohohoho! This story finally gets an update at last! After a long hiatus, (and a pesky surgery) we get to see what becomes of Naruto and Shirahoshi. Still, I have to say, I'm surprised no one has written a pairing with these two just yet. Am I the only one to actually think of such a thing? **

_Wherever you go, I'll protect you...always._

_~Uzumaki Naruto._

**The Princess and the Pauper**

It came as less a surprise, more a relief, when she finally awoke.

At first, anyway.

Her first clue that she had returned from the land of nightmares came when darkness truly fell. The visions evaporated, and the voices went with them. For a very welcome period, there was nothing to see or hear, or even think. She could just rest, and be.

Then new noises began to intrude upon her solace.

Then new noises began to intrude on the peaceful silence: the whirring of rustling cloth, low-pitched whispers and murmurrs from someone, a fizzing, spitting noise that could have been running water, and other sounds that held no place in her serenity. Her heart rose at the sound of a voice rising above the others. The faint sticking point between each breath was horribly familair.

Finally, she could stand it no more.

Shirahoshi opened her eyes.

"Yo," Naruto raised his hand in an easy greeting. "You're finally awake?"

Shirahoshi balked.

Gone were the coral walls of hard shell tower. Gone was her giant bed; as were her pillows and her books and everything else she owned. Everything seemed so much larger as she looked at it. Because she was no longer large. Nay, far from it. Even as she stood there_-stood?-_the corners of her world seemed to get a little further away. She trembled in fright, as the coral rooftops grew farther and farther away into the distance. Everything looked_...big!_

No. Wait. That wasn't quite it...

"I'm...I'm small!" she gawped.

Narruto nodded.

"I couldn't very well conceal you any other way."

"H-How did you do this?" Shirahoshi fretted, clinging to him as they walked.

"The powers of the Mugen Mugen no mi are nearly infinite." Naruto reminded her as they continued on their way. "Or did you forget that it allows my very thoughts to become reality? Still, for someone of your size and stature it wasn't exactly easy..."

Shirahoshi staggered; clutching at his arm as though she might somehow sink into the ground. She felt weak in the knees, because she had knees. _Knees!_ She had legs! She had toes! She could feel the cobblestones beneath her feet; flat and smooth and wet, and suddenly her body threatend to collapse. She looked down at her clothes. She still wore the top, which seemed to have shrunk with her, but in place of her brightly colored tail, she bore a floral skirk and azure and crimson, ending just above her bare ankles.

"I have legs!" She gasped, resisting the urge to point at them.

"It's only temporary." Naruto reassured her."Rest assured, you'll have your tail back by the end of the day. And hey, I think its an improvement!" Shirahoshi swooned. So this was the power of his cursed fruit? The power to make his very dreams a reality? Could he distort anything and everything as he saw fit? _Yes?_ Surely there had to be some sort of limit to what he could and could not do...

"How long?" She asked. It was more a small, doomed wish than a question.

"We've been walking nearly an hour now." Naruto answered, shifting his weight to the other foot. "Thankfully, you're not very heavy."

Shirahoshi blushed a faint, eager red.

"How did no one notice us?"

Naruto grinned; it was a gorgeous streak of white in the afternoon.

"That's an easy one."

And then she saw them.

The palace guards.

The marched toward them in a phalanx, weapons drawn and at the ready. Shirahoshi froze. They knew! They'd been found out! Her precious desire to see the Sea Forest and her mother's grave was going to be for naught after all! Surely they saw her. Surely they must be looking for her...

_Surely._

For a moment, Shirahoshi was certain they'd be caught. But they weren't. The guards stormed past, Naruto inclining his head toward them as they went. They didn't so much as bat an eyelash. She watched them round the corner ans sweep themselves out of sight. They did not return. They were not going to return, she realized. How

"Why didn't they recognize us?" Shirahoshi asked.

In answerment, Naruto drew one of his six swords. It bore a green hiltwrap with a slim, hexagonal guard. Its tapered tip gleamed brightly in the sunlight, casting a myriad of rainbows across her face. It was beautiful. Marvelous. Lovely. She wantedto reach for it, to touch it.

"Pretty...

Naruto grinned and offered her the blade.

She ran her figners over the surface, marvelling at the pristine quality.

"This is _Kyouka Suigetsu."_ He explained. "With it, I can fool whomever I wish, so long as they see me draw the blade." He made a backwards gesture toward the royal guards, a gorgeous white grin streaking across his face. "Right now, to them, you don't look a thing like yourself, Shirahoshi_-hime."_ He sheathed the sword, and holstered it, calm and unperturbed by the brief interruption, pleased with his blade, the perfect counterpart to the legendary powers of the Mugen Mugen no mi.

"Now, I know you want to see your mother's grave," He began, "But don't you think we ought to find something to eat, first?"

Shirahoshi was just about to protest that she was not hungry, when her stomach growled.

"Ano...that would be nice."

Naruto laughed.

"By all means then, lead the way!"

And so began Shirahoshi's grand day out.

**A/N: YOHOHOHO! ****Coming up, Encountering the New Fishman Pirates! Shirahoshi's Grand adventure with the Tenryubito continues! **Thank you so much for all of you giving me all of these WONDERFUL ideas! I hope you liked the chapter! I know I may die from asking this so may times, but...REVIEW PLEASE! Then again...being a skeleton...I am already dead! SKULL JOOOOOKE! YOHOHOHO! So...enjoy the preview!

_Naruto spun, moving with a speed that bellied the power behind his blow._

_His fingers closed around Decken's throat._

_"Damnit, why is he here!"_

_"Answer me this, Shirahoshi! Say "yes" and you won't have to die!"_

_"Bahohohoho!" Decken laughed. "Princess Shirahoshi, marry me!"_

_Naruto sighed; it was a soft, whispery sound._

_"I'm afraid you can't do that, Vanderdecken-san."_

_Vanderdecken blinked._

_"And...you are?"_

_"Uzumaki Naruto." He flicked a thumb towards himself. "_

_"And why can I not marry my beloved Shirahoshi!" Decken demanded!_

_Naruto swept a hand through his hair, the blond mess perfecting itself at the touch of his fingertips. His smile had returned._

_"Because I'm Shirahoshi's fiance." He lied, pulling her close._

_"EEEEEEH!"_

_Decken twitched murderously._

_"How dare you..._

_Furious, he raised his arm._

_...trample all over my ten years of longing!"_

_"You would choose another over me!" He screeched, bringing his axe to bear! __"If you will not love me then your very existence is an insult! Die, Shirahoshi!"_

_"Don't move!" Naruto shouted. "If you go too far away I won't be able to protect you!"_

_"A...Allright! I won't run!"_

_"This is between me and my beloved Shirahoshi!" Decken screeched! "Why must you interfere!"_

_Naruto's expression was beyond words._

_"Because you made her cry."_

_Naruto moved effortlessly and suddenly, bringing his elbow around hard. His first swat knocked Vanderdecken off his feet. Naruto followed him, weaponless, but with his fingers curled in vicious claws. He raised his hand again, this time for a blow that would rip the fishman's head off._

_"Any last words, Decken?"_

_"She'll be fine!" Naruto snapped back. "She's got me, right?"_

_"Yes!" Shirahoshi chirped._

**R&R! =D**


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